Ryan Thomas was on hand to support his former co-star and close friend as he underwent more tests after suffering mini stroke at 35. Chris Fountain, who starred alongside Ryan in Coronation Street, revealed in October that he spent five days in a London hospital after waking up at home unable to speak properly in August.
The actor, who appeared as Tommy Duckworth in ITV's Corrie from 2011 up until being axed in 2013, shared how he was left "speaking like a toddler" before doctors discovered he had suffered a Transient Ischaemic Attack (TIA) – also known as a mini stroke – after a blood clot lodged in his brain.
Chris, who also starred in Emmerdale and Hollyoaks, shared at the time how he broke down in tears when doctors informed him he had had a TIA. After several days of tests at a specialist stroke unit at the Royal London Hospital, medics determined the actor had a hole in his heart which had caused the blood clot to travel to his brain, triggering the stroke.
